


Damn It, Let Me Be Yours Again

by volee_weva



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Getting Back Together, Reconciliation, angst until it's not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 01:32:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13753437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volee_weva/pseuds/volee_weva
Summary: "He had remembered, after all this time apart, after everything they’d been through, something as simple and forgettable as her favorite drink."--In which Sasha pays a surprise visit to the Purple Skag after the events with the Traveler.





	Damn It, Let Me Be Yours Again

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my self indulgent headcanon that August is in a book club and loves to read (that's how he got his verbose vocabulary). 
> 
> It kind of got out of hand, but, like, in a good way.

She could remember the last time she was in the Purple Skag, but only because of how memorable it had been. The whole fiasco with the fake Vault key that led to their adventures with the Hyperion boys and her sister becoming a Vault Hunter, saving the world from a giant alien menace. You know, the usual stuff. And while, yes, Sasha was thankful for those experiences, she wondered what the cost of those adventures really had been for her life.

As strange as it was to think about, she missed the grifts, the adrenaline of her and her sister getting a big score. She missed the celebratory drinks, the scent of Rakkale, and the way the bar lights sparkled in the eyes of the scowling bartender.

Sasha shook her head. Just because things had changed didn't mean she could never go back.

She went to step up to the entrance of the bar, the neon skag looming overhead, and immediately turned around again. 

"Idiot!!" Sasha muttered under her breath. "It's not like he would want to see you anyways."

She gritted her teeth, and kicked the pebble by her shoe. The stone bounced around the alley beside the bar, rolling to a halt in front of the towering mountain of a bouncer. Sasha’s stomach flipped anxious cartwheels. Tector was holding something small and square shaped in his big hands, fresh blood splattered across his knuckles. The burly man glanced down in a daze, looking from the stone to Sasha, back to the stone, then to Sasha. 

She knew she wasn’t on the VIP list anymore. And, based on past observations, she had approximately 4 and a half seconds to get out of there before Tector processed who she was, and promptly squashed her into a pulp; she was entirely certain she no longer had the immunity to Tector’s havoc August had once given her. 

"Sasha?" The Hodunk sounded dumbfounded, almost out of disbelief.

Shit, she thought to herself. Sasha knew she couldn’t outrun him now. Guess talking her way out of this was the only way.

"Hi, Tector." She smiled with the simple statement. If she played her cards right, she could get out of there unharmed and leave August blissfully unaware that she even tried to see him again. Everybody wins.

"Oh, it's good to see you, Miss Sasha," Tector scratched under his ear, leaving a sticky smear of someone's blood on his lobe as he lumbered towards the bar’s front door, "See, August has been in a bad mood since you left."

Sasha bit her lip, guilt rushing over her like a wave. "I can imagine." 

"But, now that you came back," Tector’s voice was hopeful as he held the door open for her, "He won't yell as much." 

She could see a sliver of the bar she once knew so well through the doorway. Sasha knew she had to walk forward, through that door, and face the person she never thought she’d miss as much as she did. Her body stood frozen in the streets, almost as if an unbearably heavy yoke sat on her shoulders, locking her in place. The bouncer motioned with his whole body toward the doorway.

"Ladies’s supposed to go first."

Well. They were, weren’t they. But Sasha couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like a lady. 

Maybe there was still time for her to make up some excuse (something on the fly and complicated to confuse the bouncer). Before she could open her mouth, Tector had stepped down from the doorway to place a firm hand on her back and guide her up the stairs. His eyes were earnest, and Sasha gave him a small smile.

“Thanks, Tector.” She steeled herself with a breath, and passed the threshold of the Purple Skag. 

A wave of nostalgia and heartache surged through her entire being. The bar looked exactly the same as she remembered, with every wall decoration appropriately crooked and aged. The lights were dim, but comfortable. The same four patrons had claimed their regular tables, with their regular drinks, everything so natural. Except, Sasha knew she was completely out of place. 

"Boss," Tector barreled past her toward the bar, slamming whatever had been in his hand on the bar. "I got it!"

August's cheekbones were as sharp as ever. Sasha's lips tingled with the memory of pressing kisses from his jaw to his cheekbones, to his lips. She mentally cursed herself for the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach when she looked at him, examining all the details of his face. His nose ring looked to be more of a silver instead of his trademark blue, and his scowl was ever present. He snatched the package from the bar, turning it over in his hand. He said something indecipherable, but, based on his facial expression, August was frustrated, and Tector bowed his head. 

"Don't be hard on him, August." Sasha was approaching the bar before she could stop herself. 

Tector gave her a small, crooked smile, and the small rectangle slipped from August's hands. It flopped open, spine down, the pages crinkling open to a stylized drawing of Pandora's horizons seated around paragraphs of prose.

"Sasha." He said, meeting her gaze. His voice sounded a lot softer than she had anticipated.

There was a beat of silence while the two just looked at each other, taking each other in. Tector shifted beside them, the floorboards creaking under his immense weight. August furrowed his brows.

“Tector, don’t you have somewhere to be?” He hissed, eyes never breaking from Sasha. 

The bodyguard, having a rare sense of silent intuition, nodded and toddled away.

Sasha flicked her eyes away; she couldn't handle how intense and blue his eyes were right now. She let her gaze settle down to the book on the bar.

"I didn't know you read." She stated simply.

He closed the book with one hand, resting it on the cover. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

She felt herself lean across the bar, "I could learn." 

August's expression was unreadable. He blinked and cleared his throat, and Sasha realized she had laid her hand over his. Her face heated up, and she recoiled quickly.

"Uh, sorry." 

"Don't..." August shook his head, a hand covering what Sasha thought might be the beginnings of a flush across his cheeks. "Don't apologize."

He slid the book off the bar and under the counter. "Sit down, Sasha."

She obliged, taking one of the bar stools with mild surprise.

"You actually like your usual?" 

She quirked a brow, “What?”

He reached for a glass from the shelf. "Your usual. Orange daiquiri. You like that, right?”

Sasha’s mouth went dry. He had remembered, after all this time apart, after everything they’d been through, something as simple and forgettable as her favorite drink. He had always been so much more than he let on. 

“Yeah...” She gave a slow nod, “I love orange daiquiris.”

“Love, huh?” August let out a scoff as he turned towards the shelf of liquors.

Sasha felt her face heat up. “What about it?”

August set the bottle down with an unceremonious clatter, leaning palms down on the counter for support. 

He sighed. “Sash, what are you doing here?”

Oh, nothing, just hoping you’ll fall in love with me again. Sasha pressed her lips together in a thin, firm line, stopping herself from saying something stupid like that.

“What, I’m not allowed to come to a bar and have a drink?” Her voice was harsher than she had wanted it to be.

August clicked his tongue, “You know what I mean.” He grabbed the bottle and poured a generous amount in the glass. “You show up here, no warning, looking like a fuckin’ dream, and you just--” 

Her eyes grew, and, realizing what he said, August stopped pouring and turned, setting the bottle down for a smaller one. 

“I’m just saying,” His back was still turned to her. “What are you doing here, when you’ve got your new life out in Sanctuary with Rhys and--”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Sasha interrupted, an incredulous look on her face. “Rhys and I aren’t together. He’s been fawning over Fiona since they opened the Vault. How did you not notice? You were there!”

“I was a little preoccupied,” His tone darkened. “With someone almost dying on me.” He turned back to her, half of a succulent orange fruit in hand, and he squeezed it into the glass.

Flashes back to what she had thought was her last breath flooded her brain. She shuddered, the chill of remembrance creeping under her skin. She looked at him, into those piercing eyes and that characteristic pout of his. 

“Would…” She spoke hesitantly, “Would you have missed me? After everything?”  
August’s fist tightened, the last possible drips of orange juice dropping into the drink. He dropped the fruit’s husk to the ground and ran both hands through his hair quickly.

“Fuck, Sasha, do you really think I wouldn’t?” Anger powered his words, but hurt covered his face.

“Well, I really didn’t give you any reasons to miss me, August!” Sasha’s heart pounded against her ribcage. She never let her feelings out this openly; she much preferred to hide behind her sarcasm, something that didn’t reveal too much. But, now wasn’t the time for her comfort zone.

“Okay,” August shook his head. “You’re right about that. You lied to me about everything, tried to con me out of more money than either of us could’ve imagined, and a ton of other stuff I probably don’t know about.”

He slid the drink across the counter to her, his hand lingering on the glass for just a second. “But, that never changed the fact that I care about you, Sash.”

She knew she must have the most flabbergasted, dopey expression on her face. She knew, also, that she really was in love with this man. This stupid, impulsive man who had more heart than he wanted to admit. There was no hiding the blush on her cheeks. Her heart was beating so loud, everyone in the bar could probably hear it. She took the drink in both hands, the sweet aroma of oranges and alcohol and the littlest pinch of spice August knew was her favorite wafting into her nose.

“I didn’t lie to you about everything.” Sasha glanced up at him, her voice strong with stern sincerity.

August didn’t say anything--he just stood, stoic and beautiful. Sasha took a sip of her drink, the sweet citrus and kick of spice flooding her senses for a brief moment. 

“My name really is Sasha,” She was shaking from nerves, but she didn’t care anymore. There was no turning back now. “Orange daiquiris are my favorite.” She made sure she caught August’s eyes, “And I’ve been in love with you since the day we met.”

Adrenaline spiked through her, and Sasha couldn’t help but nervously smile. There. She said it. She really did. She hadn’t admitted this fact to anyone out loud-- Fiona and Felix would’ve said the mission was compromised, and then with everything once Rhys and Vaughn showed up, it was just safer to keep these feelings to herself. But, after saying it, she wanted to go to the rooftops and shout about how stupid and in love she was with this nose-ring wearing bar owner.

Her nose-ring boy, however, gave her a very serious look. His cheeks were so red, the color was dancing over to the tips of his ears.

“Don’t do this to me, again, Sasha.” His voice was quiet, and Sasha could barely hear him above the bar noises. 

How did he not believe her right now? Sasha inhaled, quickly and deeply.

“I’m telling the truth, August!” She stood, slamming her hands down on the bar, in an attempt to further emphasize her point. The bar’s patrons quieted down, giving fleeting glances to the two. “I know I lied about a lot, but I never lied about loving you.”

“Oh, yeah, is that why you broke up with me?” August leaned on the bar, palms down, face getting closer to hers as he shouted. “Because you love me so much?”

“I’m not perfect, okay?” She felt herself inching closer to him, “And what about you? You never told your mother about us, did you?”

“Oh, come on!” They were both still shouting, but every sentence brought their faces closer together. “You saw how she was-- I couldn’t tell her anything she didn’t want to hear!”

“Oh, and I could just tell everyone!” Sasha’s nose almost bumped his, “I couldn’t let anyone know I had actually fallen for our mark.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

And, almost in an instant, his lips are on hers. She blinked with surprise, but let herself melt into the kiss. His lips were very much like him, rough around the edges, but soft and earnest with every touch. One of his hands reached up to cup her cheek, and she leaned comfortably into it. Their lips moved against each other in an easy rhythm, as if they had never been apart.

Sasha broke the kiss to catch a breath, but didn’t move away from August. Their breath mingled, August’s eyes flicking over every inch of her face. He rubbed his thumb in small circles on her cheek. She couldn’t help but smile into his gentle caress.

“Well,” His voice, like his hand, was soft. “I think it’s safe to say I believe you.”

“Good.” She brought her hand up to rest comfortably over his.

She let her gaze fall to the counter, and jumped back suddenly. A steady stream of orange liquid had flowed from the knocked over glass neither of them had noticed during their kiss.

“Oh, shit.” She muttered, making her way towards the other side of the bar. “You still keep the napkins under the counter, right?”

August was already standing at the entryway into the inner bar when she got there. “Forget the drink, Sash. We’ll clean it up later.”

That seemed appropriate for them, huh? Make a mess, clean it up later, and live happily ever after. That sounded good to Sasha, who smiled at the bartender before she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his again.


End file.
